Ashes to Dust
by AureumDraconeus
Summary: Beacon has fallen. And Remnant is in chaos. No one is able to fight for what they believe in any more and the Grimm have been getting stronger ever sine that fateful day. But Yang Xiao Long and Team RNJR are about to unfold a legend that will not only change their lives, but change the rest of Remnant's history forever... [ Cover Art to be added. ]
1. A Forced Reuniting

Crimson twilight shone through the windows of Yang's bedroom. It had been at least two months since the events at the fall of Beacon and the loss of her arm…everything that had happened to her in that time was nothing short of torturous. Every night the same damn nightmare would plague her mind, that scene that repeated over and over like a broken video tape, her partner Blake, on the ground and bleeding whilst her old mentor and friend Adam Taurus was impaling her with the intention of provoking her…

 _ **Anger…**_

 _ **Pure burning hatred for the man that was trying to kill the girl that she had been protecting for so long…**_

 _ **He would pay….HE WOULD PAY!**_

"Get away from her!" Yang felt her vocal chords almost get strained to the point of losing her voice as she screamed, her Semblance kicking into high gear as she charged at the masked assailant. Her crimson eyes stained with tears as her heart pounded in her chest. But as she got closer there was nothing but a crimson blur as the blonde's arm began to burn, the seething pain as flesh tore from bone…the pure shock of it all sending her tumbling to the ground…and waking up in her bed…

"Damn it…" said Yang as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her remaining arm. "Why did you have to go…? Why now of all times…?"

Suddenly a faint tapping could be heard on the window of her room, the same tapping that came almost every day. Two short, one long. The raven had returned to the window sill. Lavender hues turned to look at the familiar avian as Yang began to shift upright, her lips curled into a small but concerned frown as she tried not to look at the bird that almost sent a chill down her spine…

"Why do you always come birdy?" Yang started as she then began to slowly swing her legs off the edge of her bed, feet creaking on the oak wooden floors as she began to slowly move over to the window. After opening the latch she began to slowly push the window open, the cold winter air assaulting her for a moment before the raven took its chance and began to hop into Yang's room.

"Don't you have anything better to do, apart from spending time with m-" Yang was cut off by the sound of the raven cawing at her, though not out of anger but almost as if it was trying to talk to her.

Of course Yang soon found herself beginning to pace around the room, her left arm clutching at the bandaged stump that remained. Her eyes looking almost hazy as she began to think about all that had happened. Ever since Ruby left to go and find some answers in Haven, Taiyang had been working almost double time to try and find her as well as help out with evacuation and relocation. She missed her dad, but she missed Ruby even more. Ruby was always so naïve to the real world, believing that she could find answers for what happened and try to fix everything. She was an idiot to think that this could all be fixed…but at least she remained positive in the face of adversary.

However, her time thinking about what had happened was cut short by the sound of footsteps against the wooden floor. The hairs on the back of her head stood up on end as she quickly turned around to see that someone was there…someone that she recognized.

"Hello Yang." The rather tall masked maiden spoke with an oddly concerned tone in her voice. "It has been so long since I've seen you. Look how much you've grown…" The woman spoke again, Yang was stood there in a state of shock and confusion, who was this woman? And how the hell did she appear here?! Wasn't the raven supposed to be there?!

"Who th-" Yang began but was cut off once again by the woman slowly taking off her mask. Crimson eyes, pale complexion, black hair…this was her. Raven Branwen, Yang's mother. "I told you that you would not be getting my sympathies twice but…I find myself wanting to retract that statement." Raven muttered as her crimson eyes looked toward the bandaged stump, causing the blonde to get a little twitchy as she then began to confront the woman who dared come back after so long.

"Why the hell are you here?" Yang stated, her eyes turning crimson as she began to storm closer to Raven, "Aren't you supposed to be running away? Giving cryptic messages to Qrow? Yet you think coming back now is going to help make me feel better?!" If anything Yang was now deep into her emotions, the darkness within her soul beginning to rear its ugly head as she began to poke her mother on the chest plate. Crimson hues were staring at one another as Yang continued her rant.

"Ever since you sent that message to Qrow saying that you wouldn't save me again, everything wrong has been happening! First Penny, then me and then Pyrrha and Ozpin! Yet you think that you can just come back in here and **dare** to try and make me feel better?! You're lucky I'm one handed…" The blonde soon turned away as Raven's eyes began to lower toward the oak wood floor. This was her fault, leaving her daughter at such a young age must have been torture for her…Taking care of her younger sister after Summer gave birth and then having to mature so quickly. Why did it have to be her?

' _Why not cut off the other arm…make it so she's helpless to fight you'_ A dark voice began to whisper in Raven's head, causing the maiden to look away from Yang as she found herself trying to combat this voice within her head. "You are not here to make things better Lucifus. You're trying to get me to kill her, the one thing that I have left that I can't afford to lose…" Raven whispered as the darkened voice began to cackle as it spoke, a very alluring and almost sophisticated tone. _"Oh Raven you're an idiot. She wanted you to kill her from the start, not give her any chance to rise like a phoenix…but if you're so inclined on helping her then go ahead. The Babylon will not welcome you back, but do not think that you are safe both…we have eyes and ears everywhere, Raven. You know this better than anyone…"_

The voice faded as Raven soon turned to her daughter and walked over to her, putting a hand upon her shoulder. Her face betraying any look of seriousness she might have had. Her eyes beginning to well with tears as she hugged Yang tightly, "Yang I never meant to leave you like this…There was the truth that was revealed to me and I couldn't handle it, it was making me go insane and the only place I could turn was to _her_ " The masked maiden bitterly spoke, "Wait…Who did you even go to?" Yang asked as soon enough Raven removed her hands from the dragon's shoulders before her eyes stared out of the window…

 _ **Anger…**_

 _ **Pure burning hatred for the woman that had tried to kill those whom she had protected for so long…**_

"Salem..."

* * *

Silver eyes stared across the vast and open kingdom that was Mistral. She had finally made it after so long and now it was time to get some answers for what had happened. Of course, this red hooded girl was not alone, for beside her stood a cowardly lion, a bubbly and excitable hammer wielder and a calm, yet still determined lotus flower.

"Well Ruby. Guess we made it." Jaune Arc stated with a slightly nervous smile plastering itself across his face as navy blue hues stared across the kingdom of Mistral.

"You know what we gotta do Ruby!"

"Well…I'm sure that she does Nora, but for now we must find some place of rest."

Ruby turned to look at Ren and Nora as they both wore smiles on their faces, even with all that had happened they were still able to maintain such a positive outlook on the adventure ahead of them. But now came the true beginning, the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.

"Alright guys" Ruby started as the rest of Team RNJR turned to look at their leader.

"It's time to get some answers."

* * *

 _ **Authors Note;**_ **Hey everyone! I'm glad to say that I'm finally going to be able to start another fan fic. This time it's going to be one that centres around both Team RNJR as well as Yang as two separate stories begin to unfold. Of course this will also involve the introduction of a few new OC Character's that I have made, and as for stories like Rise of the Fang? Well they're going to be continued when I get the motivation.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this story because I'm gonna try and make it a little more light hearted than what I usually write (I mean have you seen .com ? That's got some angsty stuff in it). But if people wish to discuss ideas, give criticism or even some pointers, then be sure to do so.**

 **Hope you stick around for the next chapter of Ashes to Dust**


	2. The Thunder Strikes

"…Salem? Who the hell is that?" Yang asked as she slowly sat down upon her bed, staring up at Raven with a look that mixed concern and curiosity into a sick cocktail that would leave one gagging at the taste. Raven's crimson hues merely stared out the window of her daughter's room, toward the winter sky as she felt her hands ball into fists…

"Salem…Was the woman that gave me the power I have now, the manipulation of portals within the Babylon…but she is also the woman that took me in when I had no one else to go to…" Raven's words were heavy, clouded with vagueness, no description of what she looked like or a personality…it was just Salem.

"That doesn't actually help me here Mom. If you want me to help you then tell me who she is! I can tell Dad and we can try and find he-" Yang started before her mother slammed her fist into the glass of the window, cracks and splits forming as the masked maiden began to recoil as she turned to face her daughter head on…

"I'll tell you everything…but be warned, Salem will kill you if you try to fight her. She is not like anyone you have seen…she is...a monster"

* * *

" _So you'll give me a chance at redemption…?" Raven's eyes gazed upon the snow white skin of the woman that had come for her, her eyes piercing like daggers. Her heart gone and her soul nothing but darkness and malice for the man that had_ _ **ruined**_ _her…_

 _Rage. Rage against the dying of the light._

" _ **My child, I will give you a chance to change Remnant's future. He has told you a truth that you cannot comprehend and thus you have run from it. You cannot comprehend that some higher power truly exists…can you?"**_

" _I…I just don't understand how they could keep this from us" Raven began as she looked to her blade and back to the cloaked Salem,_ _ **"Because whilst humanity has banded together in order to fix what the darkness has started. They are all blinded by a truth that they cannot see. A Truth that would lead to a breakdown of what we know as humans."**_ _Salem then raised a claw and extended it toward the broken and saddened maiden._

" _ **You wish to change your destiny**_

" _I do…I can't let those powers be used for the wrong thing…"_

" _ **Then I shall allow you to control something much greater. Come, you are not the only one to join in with this cause, you will be treated much better by me than by him…Prithee thee away"**_

 _Within a flash of black and red, the world around both Salem and Raven changed to match that of a crystalized wasteland. Grimm roaming free as they saw their mistress returning to them, with someone new alongside her, a symphony of roars and animalistic sounds erupting from the crystalized forests of the Babylon…_

 _The Black Queen has gained a knight. And the game begins anew…_

* * *

"And that's how she found me. I had run from Ozpin because I could not understand what he had told me, I was destined for something much greater than I had predicted and being thrust into such a position was hell for me." Raven sat beside Yang, her eyes not betraying a look of malice toward Salem, the woman that she had sought to leave for so long but never could…

"Damn. That kinda sounds like what's happened now, running away and isolating yourself from something that you can't understand." Yang said as she turned to Raven and then found a small smile tugging at her face as she then placed her arm around her mother's shoulder and pulling her in close. "But…you did come back. Though I still think that we've got a lot of trust issues to work out but hey, better than just keeping ourselves apart for so long, am I right?" The blonde's lavender eyes caused Raven to almost smile as she then hugged her daughter tightly.

"Yang…you're just like your father, still so set on keeping the bonds that you thought you lost" Raven began as she found herself chuckling meekly. "Well, you gotta keep your hopes high. You've been looking for me and I've wanted to search for someone ever since that incident at Beacon. A Stray cat that needs to be reunited" Yang spoke as Raven felt her eyebrow raise a little bit, was her daughter joking or was she serious…was she also searching for someone?

"Well. I believe that I may be able to help you, I have seen much throughout Remnant and maybe I could be of assistance." Raven stated as she stood up and showed a very calm and serious smile upon her face. Seemed as if she feeling much better after getting all that off her chest, the blonde dragon quickly standing up beside her mother as she began to slowly start making her way out of the room, "Then let's get started shall we? I mean we've got all day, no need to be 'lion' around" She joked, causing her mother to giggle a tad as the two females exited Yang's bedroom. The blonde showing a smirk upon her face as her thoughts turned to the one that she was looking for…

'Blake…I'm not gonna stop looking for you, even if it means sacrificing more than I ever have to see you again. This is a new start for me, I'm not going to sit here anymore…I'm a phoenix, and I shall rise from the ashes of depression and start again.'

Even with all that talking between the two, it had only just been an hour since Raven's arrival. But now the two had a mission that they were going to complete together…

No matter what the cost was going to be. They would see this through to the very end.

' _More Grimm have been sighted within the now evacuated kingdom of Vale. All huntsmen and huntresses that are available for deployment need to consult with General James Ironwood of the Atlas Military. For those that are still within the kingdom's walls, this will be a long night for them all. I'm Amelia Auburn, and thank you for listening to the Mistral News Network.'_

Team RNJR's search for answers had lead them to a local inn that was located just on the outskirts of the centre of town. It seemed to be a fairly packed place with a lot of huntsmen and huntresses from all across Remnant taking refuge in this place. A Fairly burly male running the bar as he seemed to be engaging with some of the customers.

"R-Ruby? Are you sure that this is the place?" Jaune nervously asked as the team slowly made their way into the lobby of the inn. The red hooded huntress in training had been pointed to a man by the name of 'Raijin' who supposedly knew everyone who came from Mistral and that included the students of Haven. 'He's like a constant cloud over us, always knowing people and having some semblance of knowledge about what they're like' many stated as the team was directed to the inn in which he worked at.

"Positive. If this Raijin guy is here then we're gonna be getting some answers a lot earlier than expected" Ruby spoke as she removed her hood and began to slowly make her way up to the bar counter, sitting herself on one of the chairs as the red headed bartender soon noticed the younger customer at his bar and decided to make his way over

Raijin himself was a fairly tall male, with a decently muscular build to him that could make him comparable to someone like Junior or Sage Ayana. With red hair and slightly amber eyes, one could compare him to someone like Pyrrha Nikos, and in many circumstances the lowly bartender had visited the Nikos household many times before and was friends with Pyrrha's father Apollo. Slowly looking down at Ruby he began to find himself wondering why someone like this would be at a bar of all places.

"Aren't you a little young to be at a bar?" Raijin finally asked as he began to lean over the bar a little, Ruby's silver eyes looking away for about five seconds before they looked back toward the rather intimidating male. "I'm looking for someone by the name of Raijin? People have said that he knows about people… Or at least that's what I heard, think you know of him?" Ruby asked as she smiled a little bit, causing the bartender to let out a hearty chuckle.

"So you're lookin' for Raijin huh?" The bartender asked once again

"Um…Yes?" Ruby replied as she found herself beginning to get a little bit nervous at how close this bartender was being.

Letting out another hearty chuckle, Raijin then bashed a hand against his chest as he began to prepare a drink for another customer, though still paying attention to the little red rose sitting at his bar. "Well ya found him! I'm Raijin, people call me the 'thundercloud of Mistral' and there's a good reason. I know everything about everyone…that and my drinks are quite shocking" The red headed male joked, prompting some other patrons of the bar to burst out laughing. Ruby however only let out a little nervous laugh, she didn't want to seem rude…she had enough times being scolded by Weiss for that.

"Think you could help me then? I kinda need some information on someone" Ruby queried as she reached into her cloak, looking over briefly to Jaune and the rest of Team RNJR…and like she expected they were already getting into trouble. Nora seemed to be squaring off against some of the more burly huntsmen whilst Ren and Jaune tried to hold her back, almost reminded Ruby of…Yang…

"Sure kiddo. Though don't' ask for any drinks, can't give alcohol to minors ya know" Raijin teased, quickly snapping Ruby out of her little trance as the red cloaked huntress began to slowly take out the only known picture of this woman. As Raijin found his amber hues staring at a woman clothed in a red dress and adorned with obsidian black hair, his heart began to slowly pump blood faster and faster around his body…this woman…this was the one that was responsible for a certain house fire that took place many years ago…that little girl was still alive?

"How…How do you know of this girl? Someone like her hasn't been around for at least a decades" The bartender stuttered out, his voice slowly getting quieter as eventually he began to find his hands shaking lightly.

"Are…Are you OK mister?" Ruby asked with a slightly concerned expression upon her face. Her eyes glanced down at the picture of Cinder Fall and then back up toward Raijin.

"That woman," He began as some of the other patrons began to back up slightly, they knew what was happening and they all had an idea that something was going wrong. "That woman is responsible for killing so many innocent people, Cinder Fall."

Whilst many patrons began to look around to one another, many knew of who Cinder was…the once beautiful young girl who was pushed too far by her own stepmother. Supposedly she was confirmed dead about a decade ago considering no traces of her were found in any transcript records. Raijin was but a lad at the time the massacre happened, the burning of the Fall household, something that shook the entire foundation of Mistral just from how important the Fall family was to many within the kingdom.

"How…How do you know of her?" Raijin quickly asked as he slammed his fist down onto the bar, a slight electric shock coursing into Ruby's hand, causing her to yelp as she shook her right hand lightly. "I-I only know of her because of what she did at Beacon! She killed my friend and I wanted to come and find someone who could give me answers about her!" Ruby soon found herself getting cut off by the bartenders breathing, long and heavy breaths being taken as his amber hues began to glow a vibrant blue.

"Cinder Fall is a name **not welcome** in this establishment…now take your friends…and leave" Raijin spoke with a tone filled with malice and hatred, prompting the red rose to try and keep anything else bad from happening.

"But we-"

" **GET OUT! NOW!"** Raijin yelled as suddenly four large drums began to circle around the bartender's body, electricity coursing through them as he then prepared for battle. Ruby quickly leaped back as she drew Crescent Rose and slammed it against the bars floor. Jaune and the rest of Team RNJR quickly rushed up to join their leader as the four young teens had aggravated a very strong huntsmen…and now were about to pay the price…

* * *

"Alright Yang, I believe that in order to truly get yourself back onto your feet you will need a new arm." Raven stated as she soon placed her blade down onto the ground, eventually tossing one of the many blades that she had toward her blonde haired daughter, who fumbled a little trying to catch it in her left arm.

"Well…No shit, I mean that's kinda the point isn't it? I mean I kinda don't wanna end up being more useless than I already am" Yang half joked as she shrugged a little, prompting Raven to glower slightly. "Do not say such things about yourself, Adam is nothing more than a monster in Faunus clothing. He is weak minded and easily corrupted. It's how he became obsessed with your partner in the first place" Raven stated with a solemn expression which prompted Yang to show a slight smirk.

"You're trying to make me feel better about this? I mean someone like you, who left me for almost a decade of my life. Wow, the world really is coming to a fucking end isn't it-?" Yang was quickly cut off by Raven slapping her daughter upside the head whilst glaring…looks like swearing around her mother really wasn't an option. "I may have left you for over a decade of your life Yang Xiao Long, but I can still wash your mouth out with soap and make you eat the dirt whilst doing it" The avian swordswomen threatened, causing Yang to go wide eyed whilst trying to back up.

"OK! I think I know where I got my anger from. Now then, are we gonna do this?" Yang asked as she slowly adjusted her left arm before watching her mother draw her blade. That same crimson blade that saved her what seemed like eons ago. "Now then Yang, the first lesson of your rehabilitation shall begin… _ **NOW!**_ "

Raven then spun her sword within her palm before clutching the hilt and letting out a yell as she quickly charged toward Yang, prompting the blonde to get into a defensive stance.

This really was going to suck without the usage of her right arm wasn't it?

* * *

 **Authors Notes ;; Hey! I'm sorry this chapter took so long to put out, I've just been incredibly lazy as of recent. But I'm hoping that you guys are enjoying what has been put out so far. For those that need some clarification, Raijin himself is an OC of mine that I created based on the Japanese thunder god of the same name, his weapon is four large drum turrets that when hit can launch blasts of lightning from the Lightning Dust crystals engraved inside the drums themselves. Also, if people want to know why Raven is acting nicer than most would expect? Well that has to do with a certain corrupted doctor who shall be appearing later on. But anyways, thanks for reading this chapter, be sure to send reviews and criticisms as well as improvements should they be needed!**


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